News

New Report Analyzes Residential Yard Waste Collection Processes



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 15, 2018

Sara Swanson
Marketing Coordinator
240-494-2238
sswanson@swana.org

New Report Analyzes Residential Yard Waste Collection Processes
Findings Released by SWANA's Applied Research Foundation

Silver Spring, MD – A new report issued by the Solid Waste Association of North America’s (SWANA) Applied Research Foundation (ARF) documents the collection of yard waste, analyzing schedules, processes, and costs, while looking for opportunities to improve efficiency and mitigate risks.

The report, “Service Options for the Curbside Collection of Residential Yard Waste,” used the city of Charlotte, North Carolina as a model to provide an analysis of the city’s current program and explore new yard waste collection options such as automated collection, reducing collection frequency on a seasonal or annual basis, and requiring the use of compostable bags.

“The city of Charlotte currently provides weekly yard waste collection services to over 216,000 single-family residences where collection personnel manually lift and debag the yard waste set out in plastic bags while collecting it at the curb,” said Jeremy O’Brien, P.E., SWANA’s Director of Applied Research. “The city was interested in exploring options to reduce the costs and injury risks associated with this approach.”

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency Sustainable Materials Management report released last week, yard waste comprised 13.2 percent of the municipal solid waste stream in 2015, making it a high impact area that if reduced, could lead to significant waste diversion in many cities.

“Yard waste is a significant component of the waste stream in many cities and counties, and this new ARF report provides powerful insights and data that will help solid waste management officials manage their yard waste collection systems and incorporate changes to make them more efficient and effective,” said David Biderman, SWANA’s Executive Director and CEO.

The research for this report was sponsored by the ARF’s Collection Group which includes Charlotte, N.C., Clearwater, Fla., Tucson, Ariz. and Charleston County, S.C.

The full report, “Service Options for the Curbside Collection of Residential Yard Waste,” is currently only available to SWANA ARF subscribers. SWANA members receive free access to ARF industry reports one year after publication.

To learn more, click here for the Executive Summary of the new report.

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About SWANA:

The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) is an organization of more than 10,000 public and private sector professionals committed to advancing from solid waste management to resource management through their shared emphasis on education, advocacy and research. For more than 50 years, SWANA has been the leading association in the solid waste management field. SWANA serves industry professionals through technical conferences, certifications, publications, and a large offering of technical training courses. For more information, visit swana.org.


About ARF:

SWANA’s Applied Research Foundation (ARF) supports SWANA’s mission of advancing the practice by conducting collectively-funded research on pressing solid waste issues that are identified and selected by the Foundation’s subscribers. Subscribers provide penny per ton contributions — based on the amount of waste that they manage — to support and participate in the Foundation’s research activities on an annual basis. For more information, visit swana.org/research.

About SWANA

The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) is an organization of more than 10,000 public and private sector professionals committed to advancing from solid waste management to resource management through their shared emphasis on education, advocacy, and research. For more than 60 years, SWANA has been the leading association in the solid waste management field. SWANA serves industry professionals through technical conferences, certifications, publications, and a large offering of technical training courses.

Media Contact

Kristyn Oldendorf
Director of Public Policy
(240) 494-2237
marketing@swana.org